Effect of electroacupuncture on pain after periodontal flap surgery: a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) application on postoperative pain levels and the amount of analgesic use in patients who underwent periodontal flap surgery. METHODS: In this prospective, randomized and controlled study, patients planned for periodontal surgery were divided into two groups [EA group (n = 22): patients who received electroacupuncture and control group (n = 22): patients who did not receive electroacupuncture]. Electroacupuncture was applied bilaterally to the Hegu (LI4), Daying (ST5), and Jiache (ST5) points of the patients in the EA group immediately before and after the flap surgery for 30 min at a frequency of 50 Hz to each point at a current that the patient could tolerate. The patients in the control group underwent flap surgery without applying electroacupuncture. Patients were asked to record their pain levels on the visual analog scale and the number of analgesic tablets they took during the 7 postoperative days on the given form. RESULTS: The total mean score of pain felt in the EA group (16.60 +/- 2.78) was found to be significantly lower than that in the control group (31.37 +/- 2.78) (P = 0.001). No significant difference was found between the groups regarding the amount of analgesics taken (4.77 +/- 4.72, 5.82 +/- 3.11) (P = 0.111). CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that electroacupuncture application is beneficial in reducing pain after periodontal flap surgery. Overall, more research is needed to fully understand the effects of electroacupuncture on postoperative pain.